BEIRUT - The
Public Prosecution at the Court of Appeal, assigned to look into
the appeal filed by the legal representatives of Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh
regarding the decision of the Beirut First Investigative Judge who decided the
dismissal of the case for lack of standing of plaintiff Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, has
decided to overturn this ruling.

The court recognized the
appellant as a victim of actions taken by the former Governor of the Central
Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, concerning Abu-Ghazaleh’s demand for the return
of his deposits and their accrued interest.

Up to this date, Abu-Ghazaleh
has not received any funds due to Salameh's breaches of banking laws and
regulations. The former Governor improperly encouraged and lured Abu-Ghazaleh
to transfer his funds and deposits to Société Générale Bank in Lebanon, based
on prior decisions that assured him that the Lebanese banking laws are
consistent with those of other countries.

As a result, Abu-Ghazaleh
transferred his funds as deposits to Lebanon, fully trusting the banking laws
that permit him, upon his request, to withdraw his deposits and transfer them
in the same currency (in US dollars) outside of Lebanon

However, after verifying the
deposits have been transferred, the former Governor of the Central Bank
exploited his position for the second time by issuing decisions to banks that
contradicted earlier rulings, for the purpose of and intention of seizing the
appellant's deposits and their accrued interest.

Furthermore, the former
governor did not stop at this level of harm inflicted on the appellant due to
the non-return of his deposits and due interest; he permitted Société Générale
Bank in Lebanon to close Abu-Ghazaleh’s bank account without consulting or
notifying the account holder.

As a result and since 2015,
the appellant has been unaware of the status of his deposits and their accrued
benefits, having received no funds until today.